sure, my friend,’ Ronnie said, knowingly patting his knee. ‘The rest of the music industry will be quaking in their boots—because without a doubt this amazing find of yours is definitely going to put you back in the game…with bells on!’
And on that note, as if on cue, with an impatient swish of the changing room curtain Caitlin suddenly appeared before them wearing red faux leather jeans cut low on the hip and a sheer white chiffon blouse that had a lacy frill edging the cuffs. And, because the diaphanous blouse revealed so much more than it concealed, Jake was treated to the captivating sight of her luscious breasts crammed into a flimsy white lace bra that appeared barely equipped to contain them. He also saw that she had a deeply sexy belly button that put him in mind of a harem and long, hot desert nights…
With her arms akimbo, she glanced first at Ronnie, then at him, and her bewitching green eyes clearly proclaimed her disdain.
‘I hope you’re both satisfied. In my opinion, I look utterly ridiculous in this outfit.’ Flicking back her shining dark hair in a huff, Caitlin flushed, her apple cheeks growing even pinker.
When Ronnie would have gone across to reassure her, Jake immediately rose to his feet to take charge.
‘Let me,’ he told her meaningfully, lowering his voice.
He made his way over to his new protégée.
‘Believe me, you look anything but ridiculous.’
A heated injection of pure carnal pleasure pulsed through him as he came face to face with Caitlin’s arrestingly beautiful gaze. His blood had been simmering since she had got into the car with him outside Mike’s place and, as entertaining and necessary as it was, this little fashion parade wasn’t helping.
Everything about the woman was driving him wild…her scent, her beautiful emerald eyes, that gorgeous long black hair of hers, and even the endearing little habit she had of chewing down on her lower lip when she was feeling overwhelmed or anxious. As for her figure… Ever since he had seen it he’d been thanking God he was born a man. It was a shame they were in one of his stylist’s favourite fashion houses or he might have demonstrated his appreciation a little more graphically.
‘Well, I’m not going on stage looking like this. I haven’t become a singer for people to ogle me. If you like the outfit so much, why don’t you wear it and be done with it!’
Caitlin stepped towards Jake as if she’d like to wipe the smile right off his face with a slap. Towering over her, he immediately closed the gap between them and made himself slowly breathe out.
‘Calm down. You’re getting all hot and bothered for nothing.’
Hot and bothered didn’t begin to describe how Jake was feeling. God knew he was making a supreme effort to corral his aroused feelings, but it was damn near impossible with Caitlin huffing and pink-cheeked in front of him, her luscious breasts rising and falling with every breath that she took.
‘Ronnie and I just wanted you to try a few different looks. It doesn’t mean you have to go with anything that doesn’t feel right. Ultimately it’s your decision.’
Jake’s reassurance effectively took the wind out of Caitlin’s sails. She hadn’t meant to be deliberately obstructive, but appearing in revealing clothing in front of anyone, let alone Jake, wasn’t something that came remotely easy to her. It wasn’t anyone’s fault that she was so insecure about her body, but she was. She’d often been teased as a child for being ‘chubby’, and even though she knew rationally that she was in good shape now she guessed that the hurt of being picked on and singled out because of her appearance had never quite left her.
But maybe this was her chance to overcome her insecurities and act differently for once. In any case, the least she could do was have a sense of humour about the proceedings. The fact was, she was a singer in a rock band and people would expect her to look the part…even to look sexy.
Cringing at the thought, she suddenly found herself unable to meet Jake’s glance directly. He was so arresting, from the top of his tousled dark hair and the haunting chiselled perfection of his face to the tips of his feet in his stylish worn leather boots. In his long leather coat, with tight jeans and a midnight-blue shirt opened casually at the neck, he wore his clothes as if he didn’t give a damn…which made it all the more challenging for Caitlin, knowing she regularly had to face him.
‘I don’t like wearing this kind of revealing clothing. I’m just not comfortable dressing to show off my body,’ she admitted quietly. And because she was feeling vulnerable, every cell vibrating with the tension of being so intimately scrutinised, she folded her arms across her chest, only too aware that Jake’s heated blue gaze kept dipping helplessly to that area.
‘Why?’ Nonplussed, he shook his head. ‘Tell me what’s going on in your head that makes you feel embarrassed about revealing such a God-given asset? Because that’s what it is, Caitlin.’
His glance momentarily flicked towards the elegant and manicured Ronnie, who sat waiting patiently for him to finish before coming over to join them and give her opinion.
‘It’s not easy to explain,’ Caitlin answered.
Jake turned back to her to give her his full attention. Taking up where he’d left off, he remarked, ‘You’re beautiful, Caitlin. If I gave you a bin liner to wear you’d still look stunning. Why don’t you just enjoy being young, having the freedom to dress a little outrageously?’
‘It’s all right for a man to come out with that, isn’t it?’ Furiously twining her hair behind her ear, Caitlin glared. ‘Women don’t leave men just because they get older. Even nowadays, when you’d think we would have got a little bit more enlightened, older men are labelled “interesting” or “experienced” while the complete reverse is applied to women.’
An amused smile twitched at the corners of Jake’s lips.
Caitlin paused. Maybe she was overreacting. After all, surely he had a point—she should take advantage of being young and free and go wild. Still, his sentiment had struck a nerve. Was Jake the kind of man who would leave a woman just because she was getting older or had put on weight? The music industry was hardly known for nurturing healthy relationships, was it? Not when everything seemed to be dominated by image these days.
The pop charts were littered with pretty young things with average talent and attractive bodies who had their five minutes of fame and then disappeared. But, as far as relationships went, it didn’t mean that she couldn’t fantasise about one day finding a man who wanted to stay with her come what may. It was just a shame that Jake Sorenson clearly wasn’t and never could be that man. He might be attracted to her because he admired the ‘packaging’, but that was all it was: a passing meaningless attraction that would no doubt blow itself out as soon as he’d taken her to bed…if she let him.
The thought made her heart slam against her ribs.
‘Don’t paint all us men with the same brush.’ Reaching out his hand, Jake gently loosed the glossy strand of hair that Caitlin had tucked behind her ear and watched it glance against her cheek as it fell silkily down to her shoulder. ‘I sincerely hope I’m not as shallow as you seem to think I am. When you get past the physical attraction, I’m quite aware there’s got to be something deeper and more compelling to keep both parties in a relationship interested. If I found a woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with I’d never let her go…no matter what happened.’
